Flight 1203
by Swordwriter
Summary: What will happen when Kate is waiting at JFK for Rick to return from a book tour and contact is lost with the flight in bad weather?
1. Chapter 1

**FLIGHT 1203**

_DISCLAIMER: ALL CASTLE CHARACTERS DELONG TO ANDREW MARLOWE AND ABC._

_THIS STORY IS FOR ENTERTAINMENT ONLY_

**Prologue: Waiting**

_Author's Note: Just a short story based on an Everly Brothers song from the late 50's. if you're interested call it up on you tube. Title: Ebony Eyes. I've reversed the character genders in the song. Set in season six. I haven't decided whether to end the story as the song ends or change it. Your responses will let me know. Swordwriter._

Kate Beckett was pacing the waiting area at New York's JFK airport. Rick Castle was coming home from a two week long book tour on flight 1203 from San Francisco. Rick's mother and daughter were waiting in the loft, allowing the two of them to have a little time together.

Kate was missing her fiancé terribly. It had been a long two weeks without him. She was also feeling guilty about the fight they'd had just before he left. She'd yelled at him about using this book tour to avoid helping her plan their wedding. He'd yelled right back that the book tour wasn't his choice. It was forced on him by his publisher for the release of the latest _Nikki Heat_ book. As it was he'd demanded that it be shortened from four weeks to two.

She'd stormed off to the precinct and he'd had the car service take him to the airport. He hadn't been gone more than an hour when she cooled off and regretted her words. She called him as soon as she figured that he'd arrived at his hotel in Los Angeles. She'd apologized profusely and told him how much she loved him. He forgave her and said they'd talk it out when he got home. She'd promised him some hot make up sex.

Kate looked at her watch. The flight was overdue by half an hour, with no new information on the arrival board. She decided to go get a snack and a cup of coffee. She got a cup of coffee and a blueberry muffin and went back to the arrival area to munch and wait.

She finished her snack and tried to find something to occupy her mind. She walked over to a news stand and spotted a copy of _New York Today._ The cover had a photo of Rick and her on the cover, with the bold caption: _Do You Believe in Magic? _ Kate smiled and bought a copy. She was pleasantly surprised to find a very nice article detailing their story, an absolute rarity in this kind of magazine.

She was startled out of her reading by an announcement over the public address system. _Will all persons awaiting United Airlines flight 1203 out of San Francisco please report to the terminal conference room._ Kate's heart skipped a beat and a terrible fear clutched at her mind. She looked at her watch as she heard the announcement. Flight 1203 was an hour overdue.

There were about one hundred very nervous people assembled in the conference room when a United Airlines spokeswoman entered. She looked at the assembled group and took a deep breath before stepping up to a small podium. She leaned forward and said, "Attention, everyone, may I please have your attention." All eyes turned toward her, and it was as though the group was holding its collective breath. "Air traffic control has informed us that due to heavy storms and high altitude turbulence in the Midwest, all radar and radio contact has been lost with flight 1203." Needless to say, pandemonium ensued. And in the midst of it all, Kate Beckett stood still as a statue, hearing over and over in her head those fateful words: "All contact has been lost."


	2. Chapter 1-actual

**Chapter One: Turmoil**

_Author's Note. This story is mostly canon but a little AU about Castle's background. As much as I enjoy the show (I'm a total fan) I've always thought that the writers make him a little too wussy except when he's protecting Kate. So in my stories I always give him some military background, as I was a military commissioned officer. As ever my lovely daughter Galxychld is my beta and editor. I couldn't do it without her._

For nearly two minutes Kate couldn't move as turmoil erupted around her. Some people shouted questions, some were screaming, and still others were crying. Shock held her in its grip until a distraught woman reeled into her, almost knocking her over. She snapped out of it. _Oh my God. Alexis. Martha. I have to get to them before the media does._ Characteristically, Kate's first thoughts were not for herself, but for the two women who were now her family even if she hadn't married Rick yet. She left the conference room to find a quiet spot and called Alexis.

The phone rang three times. Alexis answered on the third ring.

"Hi, Kate, is Dad there yet?"

Alexis's cheery tone tore at Kate's heart for what Kate had to tell her. She took a deep breath and said, "Alexis, I hate telling you this over the phone, but I'll be staying at the airport for a while. Honey, I have some bad news." She paused for a moment to control the shaking in her voice. "Your dad's plane is over an hour overdue, and they just told us that air traffic control has lost all contact with the flight."

Kate heard Alexis's sharp intake of breath, then the words forced out through a sob. "Oh, God, no, not my dad! What if the plane crashed? What will we do without him?"

Despite her own terrible fear of the same thing, Kate had to calm Alexis. She managed to say, "Alexis, we don't know anything yet except that they've lost contact. Don't assume the worst. You know your dad never would. An electrical storm could have knocked out their electronics or interfered with radar. Even if they had to go down, they may have been able to make an emergency landing. We've got to keep up hope. Tell your grandma what I've told you. I've got to go. Be strong for me and your dad." She hung up then, wishing she could be there with Alexis to tell her the news, but knowing that the young woman would be brave through this.

A little under two hours later, the hope that the media wouldn't jump all over the missing aircraft turned out to be a forlorn one. It was too big a story. It was all over every television and radio station in New York and the Internet as well. Kate stared as the evening news came on._ Good evening from New York. I'm Christine Chan with our lead story. United Airlines flight 1203 left Los Angeles at 11:00 AM Pacific Standard Time bound for JFK, due to arrive here at 7:30PM Eastern Standard Time. At 8:35 PM JFK officials announced that all contact had been lost with flight 1203, which was at that time an hour overdue. As of this broadcast, no more information is available, except that the weather in the area where it is thought to have gone down is such that search aircraft cannot fly. Air National Guard and Civil Air Patrol commanders hope to launch search aircraft at first light, weather permitting. Flight 1203 is carrying 165 passengers and crew, including such VIP's and celebrities as New York Congressman Kirk McLeod, musician Cecilia Vargas, Major League pitcher Vance Lane, and Rick Castle, author of the best-selling Nikki Heat series. We now take you to our reporter Gabrielle Dillon in Kansas City._

The picture shifted to a woman bundled up in heavy winter clothing with a background of blowing snow. _Hello Christine, greetings from the FAA air traffic control center. As you and our viewers can see, the weather here in Kansas City is very cold, 16 degrees with winds at 45 miles per hour. It is much like this throughout the Midwest. Officials here are hoping to launch ground and air search and rescue crews at first light. Weather forecasts are favorable. Even so, it is a daunting task. The search area is very wide. If the aircraft managed to land or crash-land, conditions will be difficult for survivors. I've been trying to interview some of the search crews but I've been told that the crews need to rest. Back to you, Christine._

Kate turned away from the television, wrapping her arms around herself. She slumped into a chair and the tears began to flow, her whole body wracked by her sobs. She hadn't been sitting there long when her phone rang. It was her father's ring tone. Her hands were trembling so badly that she barely managed to accept the call.

"Katie, where are you. Are you all right? I just heard the news."

Kate's voice was shaking, her eyes already red and puffy. "I'm at the airport, and no, Daddy, I'm not all right. How could I be, when I don't know anything? You know how much I love Rick. He's it, my one and done. What happens to me if I've lost him?"

"Katie, don't take that tone, we don't know much of anything right now. You won't be able to find anything else out tonight, so there's no point in you staying at the airport. You go home and be with Alexis and Martha. They need you."

Kate sighed and agreed with her father. She knew that she wasn't going to get any sleep tonight, so she might as well be with Alexis and Martha. They could draw comfort from each other.

"Daddy, could you come to the loft tonight, please? I need my family near me. I know that Martha likes you, and Alexis is already looking at you like her grandfather. The guest room is available."

"Okay, Katie. I'll be there in about an hour."

Kate relaxed a little as she thought of her father comforting her as he had when she was a child. She also managed a small smile. Her father had referred to the loft as home. It was true. About all that was left in her apartment were the furniture and the box containing her wedding dress. She hadn't slept there in weeks.

Kate hadn't even made it out of the terminal when before she received calls from Lanie, Esposito and Ryan. They agreed to meet at the loft. Seconds after Esposito hung up, Gates called and told Kate to take a couple of personal days as well as having the weekend off. She also said that Esposito and Ryan had the weekend off unless a body dropped.

Kate knew that even if the worst possible outcome occurred she wasn't alone. She had a very tight-knit family to support her, even if they weren't all related by blood.

It was almost 1:00 AM when everyone assembled in the loft. Ryan had stopped off to pick up Jenny, and they'd had to wait for her mother to show up to watch Sarah Grace. Although it was late, no one thought of going to bed. They were going to keep vigil through the night. Kate called Castle's favorite caterers for a supply of sandwiches and snacks for the others. Her stomach wouldn't let her eat, and the amount of coffee she was pouring into it wasn't helping.

The atmosphere was tense as everyone was trying, unsuccessfully, to deal with their worry and fear. Surprisingly, it was Esposito who found a way to break the tension, with a story about the time Castle, Ryan and he had all ended up in a dumpster at the produce mart. The dumpster was full of spoiled produce, and Kate's snarky question as to what kind of fruit they were.

That started it. The various anecdotes about both Castle and Kate had everyone laughing, everyone but Kate. She managed to dredge up a smile here and there, but the effort was draining. She was normally one of the strongest in the bunch, but not tonight. It was just too much. After all the struggles that they'd had, almost losing each other several times, and just when she was about to finally get the happiness she so richly deserved, now this. She wanted to scream and rage at the heavens, but what good would that do? She knew that if she lost Castle she could never love again. She might not survive it herself.

Her fists were clenched so tightly that her knuckles were white. A wave of nausea swept through her, and she clapped her hand over her mouth as she bolted for the bathroom, not even noticing the concerned eyes everyone turned towards her. She barely made it in time to vomit into the toilet. Lanie was right behind her. She wet a washcloth and bathed Kate's face. She helped Kate to her feet and pulled a paper cup out of the stack on the counter, filled it and handed it to Kate so she could rinse her mouth.

Lanie helped Kate back out to the bedroom, settled her on a chair and sat beside her. They could hear the soft murmurs of the group in the other room, but they ignored them for the moment.

Kate hung her head and said, "I feel so guilty, Lanie. Castle and I had a fight the morning he left. I didn't even go to the airport with him. I started it. I accused him of using the book tour to avoid helping plan the wedding. I don't know why I felt so insecure. My emotions have been all over the place lately. We made up over the phone but it's not the same."

Lanie pulled Kate into a hug. "You listen to me, Kate Beckett. I know that you're not religious, but my family is. I called my mom on the way over here. Not only me but the whole family is praying for Rick. Somehow I know that our prayers won't be in vain. Rick will come home to you. Now, when was the last time you ate?"

Kate thought back. "I had some yogurt and crackers at lunch. I wanted to wait and have a late supper with Castle."

Lanie huffed. "You have to keep up your strength, girl. I want you to take a couple of anti-acids and I'm going to fix you some soup and tea. No more coffee for a while."

After Kate had eaten her soup and a few pieces of chicken from the appetizer platter, and drank the herbal tea, she managed to relax enough to get back into the group and even share a funny story about Castle and "Lieutenant Chloe." Martha came and sat by Kate.

She put an arm around Kate's shoulder. "Katherine darling, there's something I should tell you about Richard that I'm sure that he hasn't talked about. You know from his background check that he was in the Air Force after college; actually, the New York Air National Guard. He's had a lot of survival training. He's a pilot. He and his RIO, whatever that is, were on a training flight over the Adirondack Mountains when the aircraft malfunctioned. They had to bail out. The weather turned bad and they were stuck in the mountains for five days before they were rescued. His buddy broke his leg so they had a hard time walking. He made it through just fine. He'll make it through this too."

The whole group stayed awake until the early morning news came on. The opening story was about flight 1203. _Good morning, America. This is Chuck Garrison from New York. Although the weather is still fierce in most of the Midwest, it has cleared enough and the winds have abated enough that search aircraft have been launched and ground based search and rescue teams are standing by. United Airlines told us that this was one of the newest aircraft in its fleet, with one of its most experienced crews on board. So unless there was a catastrophic event there is a good chance of survival and hopes are high._

Lanie took one look at the way Kate held herself through the broadcast, and the heavy dark circles under her eyes, and without a word disappeared into the kitchen. She emerged a few minutes later and handed Kate another cup of strong-flavored herbal tea, into which she had slipped a sleeping pill. It was the same brand and dosage that Doctor Burke had prescribed for Kate.

"You need to lie down and rest, girl. Martha, Alexis and your dad are going to bed. The rest of us are going home."

Kate looked around to see that everyone except for Martha, Alexis, and her dad were pulling on coats. She sipped her tea as her precinct family each hugged her and expressed their belief in the survivability of the missing flight. Esposito held her especially tightly.

"Remember, chica, that I owe Castle money from our last poker night. You know he'd never miss out on a chance to collect." He pulled back as Kate let out a small huff of laughter, and squeezed her shoulders. "Keep strong. He'll come back to you. We'll see you later."

Kate nodded, and they all left. She turned back towards Martha and Alexis, and suddenly felt a wave of light-headedness. She swayed on her feet as Martha and her father sprang for her.

"Whoa, I think your doctor friend there might have given you something to sleep," Martha remarked lightly. "Let's get you to bed and not let her efforts go to waste."

Kate, too tired and stressed to object, simply nodded and let Martha walk her to the bedroom, where she lay down on the bed and hugged Castle's pillow to her. It smelled like him. She was almost asleep when Martha closed the door. Her last thought was of Castle.

"Rick, wherever you are, I want you to know how much I love and need you. Come home to me. Please, come home to me," she whispered. As her eyes slid shut, she murmured one short question.

"Rick, where are you?"


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Two: Crash Landing**

_Several hours earlier…_

Rick Castle was fidgeting in his seat as he checked his watch one more time. They'd barely been in the air three hours, with a little under two and a half to go. He was anxious to get back to his fiancée, and a supersonic fighter wouldn't have been fast enough for him. He hadn't liked leaving Kate after a fight, but there was no avoiding the book tour, even shortened as it was. Granted, they'd talked and forgiven, and there was the promise of make-up sex when he got back. He fidgeted again. If there'd been any way for him to get out and push the aircraft to make it go faster, he would have.

There was a sudden lurch that brought Castle abruptly out of his reverie. The aircraft dropped off and to the right as the cabin lights momentarily went out, and then came back on.

Several people screamed as the aircraft veered, and several more started to panic as they realized that the plane had righted but was still losing altitude. A flight attendant stepped into the center aisle. Her face and voice were calm, her professionalism in place as she said, "Is there a pilot on board?" Several second passed with no response, the people looking around at each other. Castle finally stood.

"I'm a pilot. Not commercial, private multi-engine and ex-military."

The woman glanced at a seat chart then said, "Please come with me, Mr. Castle." Castle followed her through the plane until they reached the front. The co-pilot was laid out in the galley section of the plane just aft of the cockpit. He was moaning in pain, his face flash burned and his eyes swollen shut, temporarily or maybe permanently blinded. They entered the cockpit. The pilot asked, "Have you ever flown a jet?" The man didn't look at Castle. He was too busy controlling the aircraft.

Castle sat in the co-pilot's seat and buckled in. "I flew F-4E's in the ANG and my company owns a Beechcraft Premier business jet which I've flown as pilot in command. I've also got an older Beechcraft Baron of my own."

Without even glancing at Castle the pilot said, "Good. Help me fly this beast. We've lost the starboard engine and all communications. We're flying this thing by the seats of our pants. We've got to get this thing on the ground as quickly as possible." The 787 was designed to be able to fly on one engine if it had to, but not indefinitely. They could have made it to an airport for an emergency landing if the weather had cooperated. It didn't. They descended into a howling storm.

They were bouncing around, shaking the whole aircraft. Wind gusts slammed into the plane from every possible direction. Snow swirled around the windscreen, alternating with the clouds themselves. Ice was forming on the wings, making the plane heavier. The control wheels bucked in their hands and the rudder pedals slapped against their feet. The pilot growled in frustration and no small amount of worry.

"We've got to get this on the ground before the wings fall off." Castle glanced over at him briefly and looked away. The grim set of the pilot's jaw spoke volumes to him about their predicament. They flew for a few more terrifying minutes before they finally broke into a clear area at about 500 feet above the ground. There were wide expanses of open snow-covered ground below them.

"Give me sixty percent flaps, Number One."

Castle moved the flap control to sixty per cent. He turned his head to answer the pilot. "Flaps at sixty percent." The plane began to slow and the bucking eased up somewhat.

The intercom system was still functional. The pilot took a deep breath and opened the com.

"Everyone, we have lost one engine and need to set down as soon as possible. I'm afraid that this is not going to be a soft landing. I need you all to get ready for a crash landing and brace yourselves for impact."

He and Castle could hear the concerned murmurs through the com before they shut it off. Castle wished the flight attendants luck with soothing the no doubt terrified passengers. He tightened the buckle of the seat and held on.

The pilot nosed the aircraft down and then pulled up sharply at the last second as he cut power to the remaining engine. Castle gritted his teeth and braced himself for impact.

Snow went flying in huge clouds as the fuselage ploughed along. The starboard wing impacted something solid and was ripped from the fuselage, which sent the plane spinning around.

There were screams and cries coming from the passenger compartment as the tail section impacted a rock outcropping and crumpled slightly. The windshield shattered on the pilot's side and he ducked his head with a cry of pain as flying debris hit his face.

Castle was thrown hard against the seat restraints and suffered a minor cut along his cheek bone. With a tired groan, the plane finally stopped moving. Castle took several deep breaths to get his hammering heart under control before he released the restraints, stood up and checked the pilot.

"Are you all right?" he said. The pilot groaned and put his hand to his head, where blood was streaming down from a nasty cut on his scalp. His face was also littered with small bleeding cuts, and his lip was bleeding. Castle released the pilot's restraints and helped him out of the seat. He was alive and awake, but clearly in no state to take charge of things.

The senior flight attendant stumbled through the cockpit door and helped Castle sit the pilot next to the co-pilot. Castle was thankful for the parka, gloves and watch cap he'd bought for a one day ski trip between signings. He was even more thankful that they were in his carry-on bag.

Battery operated emergency lights had come on when the power failed. People were moaning and crying throughout the plane. The senior flight attendant turned to Castle and said, "What do we do now, sir?"

Castle gave her an odd look.

"Why are you asking me? I don't work for the airline."

"I heard you say you were an Air Force pilot. That makes you an officer. You were in the first officer's place when the captain was incapacitated. You're the closest thing we've got to someone who knows what they're doing. With both pilot and co-pilot out of commissions, well, you're in command."

The woman was looking at Castle with an expectant expression on her face. She was probably in her late thirties, trim and pretty as expected, with an air of quiet confidence. Castle didn't want to be responsible for all these people, but he had no idea what FAA regulations had to say on the matter, so he thought it best to go along with the woman.

Castle let out a sigh. "What's your name?" he asked her.

"It's Beth," she replied

"Okay, Beth, I'm Rick. First thing we'd better do is get your attendants together and see how many injured we have and how badly. Next we need to gather as many blankets and pillows as we can and have the passengers get any warm clothes out of their carry-on bags. Then we have to find a way to seal any breaches. We can just close the cockpit door. Last is to see what food we have on board and get ready to distribute it. We'd better try to get everyone as close together as we can. I heard something hit the tail section, and I know the wing is gone. We're going to get pretty cold in here very soon, so the more we can huddle together, the better."

Beth nodded and started in to talk to the other attendants.

While she was doing that, Castle dug his parka, gloves and watch cap out of his bag and put them on. He also pulled out a box of specialty coffee flavored chocolate bars he was taking home to Kate. He dug around until he found a box of yogurt and granola bars that Alexis favored. He took one of each for himself and went to go give the rest to Beth. The grateful woman's eyes lit up at the gift. He smiled.

"The old rules apply here," he said, "women and children first." The two he kept were not out of selfishness. He knew that he would be working and would need the energy. Fortunately, there were three medical doctors and two EMT's on board, and thankfully they were all uninjured.

_Damn, I wish I weren't here right now. An adventure is something happening to someone else, far away. I'm a writer. I should be making this stuff up, not living it!_ The medical personnel began their triage. Some of the seats had broken loose and caused injuries. They were mostly bruises, cuts and minor broken bones. However there were three critical injuries, five serious ones and three dead, two from cardiac arrest.

The aircraft did have emergency medical kits on board, so a scalpel was removed from one and used to cut some of the seat cushions out of their frames and open a few so they could stuff the material into the breaches in the fuselage.

The food distribution did not go well. Castle heard Beth scream as a couple of punks knocked her to the floor and grabbed for the box of chocolates. That was a bad mistake on their part.

Both of the EMT's were big men, one of them an ex-army medic. They made short work of the punks, and then used triangular bandages to bind their hands and belt them into their seats. Several other arguments broke out but they were quickly quelled. Castle lifted a sobbing Beth to her feet and helped her to the seat next to his. He got an instant cold pack out of one of the medical kits.

"Here, hold this to your cheek and rest for a while. The rest of us can handle things." There wasn't a lot of food to be had, since the meals had been served just a couple of hours into the flight, but between what the aircraft had on board and what various passengers had and were willing to share, there was enough to give everybody something to eat, enough to keep their energy levels up.

Castle, the flight crew and several volunteers from the passengers were hard at work for several hours after the crash landing, getting the injured treated as much as possible and made comfortable, getting the aircraft secure and everyone settled. Castle finally collapsed into his seat, pulled a blanket over him and was out like a light.

Castle was awakened by someone shaking his shoulder. He groaned as he sat up, stiff from sleeping in the seat and sore from bruises that were caused by being thrown against the seat restraints.

"Mr. Castle, the captain is awake and wants to see you." It was Beth. She was smiling at Castle despite the obviously painful bruise on her cheek. Castle stood up, a grimace passing over his face.

"All right, I'm up. Where is the captain?"

Beth led Castle over to the crew's section. The captain was sitting up, the left side of his face bruised and bandaged. He looked up at Castle, reached out and shook his hand.

"I hear that all of us have much to thank you for, Mr. Castle, both for helping me fly the plane and for taking over when I was incapacitated. We were very fortunate to have you on board."

Castle shook his head. "You're welcome Captain, but it was really enlightened self- interest."

The captain's sea-gray eyes meet Castle's. "Hardly that, Mr. Castle. Maybe flying the plane was but taking over once we were down was not. That was leadership."

Castle said, "Well, Captain, that may be, but I'm perfectly happy to hand that role back to you."

The captain stood and grasped Castle's hand. "That's fine, Mr. Castle but I'm going to need a deputy. My first officer is awake, but he's in no condition to handle it. His eyes are still swollen, and the doctors say there's no way to know the extent of the damage to his eyes until they can open." The captain looked at Beth. "Our radios are out. Has anyone checked our ADL?"

Beth's eyes widened in dismay. "Oh, my God. I forgot about it in the confusion. I'll go check it now."

"I don't think that you'll be able to reach it," the captain said. "Take Mr. Castle and show him where it is and how to check it."

Beth led Castle through a hatch in a bulkhead and opened an access panel. She pointed out a box fastened to the bulkhead. "There should be a green light flashing if it's working. If not, push that red button. It's the manual activation switch."

Castle replied. "No green light, I'm pushing the button now." A tense few seconds passed before he called triumphantly, "I've got a green light!"

They reported back to the captain. "It didn't activate as it should have, Captain," Beth said. "Mr. Castle activated it manually."

The captain sighed. "We've done all that we can. Now we wait."

Castle leaned a little closer to the captain. "Do you have any idea what happened here?" he said in a low voice.

The captain shook his head. "I wish I knew, Mr. Castle. I wish I knew."

_Unbeknownst to the two men, it was a mistake. A deliberate sabotage, but a mistake nonetheless. It was an electronic bomb. Not an actual explosive, but a circuit designed to partially disable the aircraft while it was still on the ground, just before takeoff. It was intended to knock out the controls and fuel feed to the starboard engine and cause another grounding of Boeing's 787 aircraft. A European consortium had an aircraft in direct competition. The action group didn't want to kill anyone, but other than that had no scruples about playing dirty. The problem was that the timer malfunctioned and the charge went off three hours late. A surge of current burned out the controls as intended, but shorted out another circuit that sent a high voltage arc directly into the co-pilot's face. It also tripped the circuit breakers on the radios and radar transponder. As the people would soon find out, the repercussions of that action would be far broader than they could have imagined._


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Three: Search and Rescue**

_Kate Beckett didn't know it yet, but that Saturday she would add three men to her personal pantheon of heroes: Bill Evans, a radio/radar technician at FAA regional control center Kansas City, Captain Jeff Kruger, an Air National Guard pilot, and Lieutenant Tim Rivers, his co-pilot. As it would turn out, they would be instrumental in the events to come._

_**Kansas City FAA regional control center, Saturday, 5:30 AM.**_

Bill Evans stretched and yawned. He was nearing the end of his shift, staring at the monitors and listening to the radios. He was both bored and frustrated. Bored because nothing was happening, frustrated because there were 165 souls out there with an unknown fate. Both his boredom and frustration ended rather suddenly. He heard the sound of a rescue beacon on the emergency channel, and the blip of its radar transponder suddenly appeared on his scope. The numbers 1203 appeared on the screen. He immediately called to the watch officer, "Beacon! I've got a beacon! It's 1203!"

The control center immediately erupted in rapid controlled activity. Two nearby control towers were contacted to triangulate the radio signal and a GPS satellite pinged to locate the aircraft. Within minutes search and rescue aircraft were flying. Ground based teams were alerted to be ready to go at a minute's notice.

At the crash site, Captain Andrews, Castle, and several volunteers had broken out the rescue panels. These were large, bright reflective red cloth panels that were laid out on the ground to be easily visible from the air. Captain Andrews had also broken out a flare gun.

Castle was standing by Captain Andrews, when he heard the faint droning of aircraft engines. He looked up toward the sound and could see a large aircraft approaching. He grabbed the captain by the shoulder. "Captain, look up!" The captain looked where Castle was pointing and saw the C-130. He quickly loaded the flare gun and fired.

_**Saturday, 6:45 AM. Aboard tail number 15895, an Air National Guard C-130J.**_

Captain Jeff Kruger was thankful for the flying conditions this morning. Although the day was cold and overcast, the clouds were high and the area was clear of storms for a few hours at least. He was flying low and slow, trying to get a visual verification of the electronic data they had on flight 1203.

The co-pilot shouted. "Flare, red flare at two o'clock!" Kruger saw the flare and turned toward it. His heart suddenly pounded with hope.

His co-pilot, Lieutenant Tim Rivers, spoke. "Hey, Jeff, I've got something. Look off to the right at two o'clock." Kruger put the aircraft into a slow right bank. Rivers focused his field glasses. "Yes!" he cried excitedly. "I see the rescue panels. I've got visual on the aircraft!"

The pilot put the C-130 into a shallow turn, orbiting the crash site. Rivers focused his field glasses on the registration number on the airliner's tail. "That's it, that's 1203!" He switched his view to the panels. "I can see several men waving." The C-130 was carrying a para-rescue team on board, which included two paramedics with full trauma kits and several other rescue specialists. Included in their equipment were ground to air radios.

Captain Kruger circled the aircraft high enough for the para-rescue team to jump safely, then ordered the flight engineer to radio in that they had found flight 1203 and report its location. The C-130 quickly reached altitude and the rescue team jumped. There was a flurry of activity on the ground as the rescue team secured their parachutes and sorted themselves out.

The paramedics went into the plane to check on the casualties and treat them, as they had more supplies and better training than the EMT's. The team leader spent several minutes conferring with Captain Andrews, Castle and Beth, discussing what their immediate needs were.

"I'm Ed Travers, the team leader." Travers was not particularly tall, but he was broad shouldered and muscular. He had sandy hair and gray eyes set in a rather square face. "There's another storm coming in, about twelve hours out. There won't be time to get you all out before it hits. What we can do is get a C-17 or two out here to drop supplies so you can ride out the storm. We can also get a couple of UH-60's in here to medevac the casualties." There was another quick discussion of what was needed, and the results radioed to the C-130 and then to the base.

The messages were flashed to McConnell Air Force Base and Fort Leavenworth, both in Kansas. A madhouse of activity was the result, especially considering the time limit involved. Needing to get the supplies together, loaded, and the aircraft launched was a monumental task. Of course, that the storm would move in in twelve hours didn't mean that it would reach the crash site in that time.

The response by all sectors was a tribute to the American spirit. Not only were military personnel involved, but also the Red Cross and many corporations were included, as well as civilian volunteers. A C-17 was airborne with three hours to spare with enough supplies and equipment to sustain 200 people for a week.

_**The loft, Saturday, 2:00 PM**_

Kate Beckett yawned and stretched. She sat up and shook her head, trying to clear out the fuzziness. Looking at her watch, she yelped and jumped out of the bed. It was almost two o'clock in the afternoon.

"Oh, Lanie, I'm gonna kill you," she muttered as she tugged on a pair of socks and then flung herself on the couch in the living room.

Kate turned on the TV, already tuned to the early afternoon news. The face of the nationally known news anchor appeared. _Good afternoon. We will now turn to our most compelling national news story. It appears that search aircraft of the Air National Guard have located the missing United flight 1203. Reports from Kansas City inform us that it appears that the aircraft crash landed rather than crashed, and there appear to be survivors in good shape. Who or how many is unknown at this time. That is wonderful news. Unfortunately another storm is underway and it will not be possible to rescue the survivors. A massive effort is being mounted to get supplies and equipment to them before the storm reaches their location. We will keep you informed as reports come in._

Kate sighed, dropped the remote onto the couch after turning off the news, and put her face in her hands, trying not to cry. The news was good that the flight had been found, but the uncertainty of not knowing who survived and who hadn't was a terrible burden. On top of that, the threat of the new storm made things infinitely worse. Martha placed a comforting hand on Kate's shoulder. When Kate looked up, Martha handed her a cup of coffee. The usually flamboyant actress looked tired and worn, her usual flair gone, her skin pale and dark circles under her eyes.

Martha sat down beside Kate. Although she tried to control the tremor in her voice, she couldn't. That was her only child out there in the cold, his fate unknown. Still, she did her best to comfort Kate. "We have to be strong Katherine," she said. "We have to pray and believe that he'll be alright. Richard wouldn't want us to worry so much. Drink your coffee and then go take a nice hot bath. I've already ordered supper from Rodolfo's. It should be here about six. Lanie, Esposito and Ryan will be joining us. An appetizer platter will arrive at four to hold us over."

Kate nodded and sipped at her coffee, surprised that it was her order, just as she liked it. _How did Martha know that?_ As if reading her mind Martha smiled and said, "Alexis made it."

Kate finished her coffee and went into their bedroom, stripped off her clothes and dropped them in the hamper. She went into the en suite bathroom and ran the extra- large tub full of steaming water. Adding bath oils she gratefully sank into the warmth. _Oh how much I wish you were in here with me, Rick, _she thought.

_**The crash site, Saturday 11:30 AM**_

Rick Castle, Captain Andrews and Ed Travers looked up when they heard the sound of helicopters approaching. Six UH-60 Blackhawks and a CH-47 Chinook were inbound. Two were carrying the red- cross markings of medical evacuation helicopters, and four were standard troop carriers. The large twin rotor CH-47 carried cargo. The helicopters landed. Air Force paramedics helped the army medics load the injured passengers on board the air ambulances and the patients were evacuated. The three corpses were put into body bags and would go out on the cargo helicopter when it was empty.

The other four helicopters unloaded a platoon of National Guard Combat Engineers who in turn unloaded tools and tents from the cargo helo. An officer ran up to Captain Andrews and reported.

"Sir, I'm Lieutenant Steven Meadows. I've got men, tents and tools. We're here to help rig tents for a field kitchen storage tents and latrines. All we can do for the latrines is dig trenches and leave chemicals. We've also got power tools to cut into the cargo holds."

Captain Andrews grasped the lieutenant's hand and said, "Thank God for you and your men, Lieutenant." The guardsmen, along with some of the strongest passengers, worked very rapidly and had everything completed in just under three hours The two field stoves could provide hot meals and were multi-fuel so after the fuel bladders ran out they could drain jet fuel from the 787's tanks and use that if they were trapped here that long. Just before he left, Lieutenant Meadows slipped Captain Andrews two Beretta 9mm pistols. "Captain, some people may freak out under these conditions. These are personal weapons that belong to my platoon sergeant and myself. Get them back to us if you can, when this is all over." The lieutenant jogged for his helo. Captain Andrews handed one of the pistols to Castle.

Castle was thankful for the hard work of the guardsmen and the news of the supplies on the way, but was cynical of the motivation. If there hadn't been a congressman on board and a famous ball player he doubted that the government response would have been as rapid or as massive.

Between the tents and the now emptied cargo holds there would be room to store the supplies. The engineers had left shovels and saws behind. Castle, Captain Andrews and Travers were getting worried. It was already well into the afternoon. If the supplies arrived late, it would be difficult unloading the pallets in the dark. Travers looked up as he heard the rumble of heavy jet engines and exhaled in relief as a C-17 approached, its cargo doors opened and the ramp partially extended.

A drogue parachute pulled the first pallet off the C-17, followed by the rest. Travers was informed by radio that the first pallet had parkas, boots, watch caps, gloves, blankets and sleeping bags. The others held food, water, beverage powders, and medical and hygiene supplies.

The rescue team quickly unloaded the cold weather gear and distributed them to the passengers who were willing to help unload and store the supplies. While the bulk of supplies were being stored, four of the guardsmen and several passengers began preparing a hot meal. The guardsmen had volunteered to stay behind and operate the field stoves.

_**The loft, Saturday, 7:30 PM**_

Although they tried to relax and enjoy the sumptuous meal that Martha had ordered, Castle's family couldn't escape the tension. Esposito, Ryan, Jenny, Lanie and Jim were as much family as Alexis, Martha and Kate, and all of the family were waiting with no small amount of trepidation for any news that could come. They had just finished a chocolate cheesecake and Kate was sipping her wine when she suddenly went pale. She jumped up from the table, and just as she had early that morning, bolted for the bathroom, barely making it before emptying the contents of her stomach into the toilet. Lanie, Martha, Alexis and Jenny rushed into the bathroom.

Martha opened the medicine cabinet and took out a digital thermometer. She handed it to Lanie. She scanned Kate's forehead and took her pulse. She leaned against the sink, thinking. A smile spread across her features. "No temperature, strong pulse, mood swings, fighting with Castle over nothing, nausea. Kate when was your last period?" Kate looked stunned.

Her eyes opened wide. "Oh my God, it was seven weeks ago. And I'm usually as regular as clockwork. But that's impossible, I'm on the pill."

"Even the pill isn't always one hundred per cent effective," Lanie said. She smiled at her friend. "Lie down and rest, Kate. I'm going to the pharmacy and pick up some pregnancy tests."

Lanie was back in half an hour and had Kate use the tests. Two separate tests in fact, just to be on the safe side. Kate couldn't quite read Lanie as she approached, and instead simply waited for the news. "Both tests are positive Kate," Lanie said. "You're pregnant!" Kate had been too nervous to look at the tests herself.

Kate's voice was shaky as she said, "What am I going to do if he's one of the casualties, Lanie? How do I tell my heart to go on without him?"

Lanie wrapped an arm around Kate's shoulder. "You can't think like that, girl, he'll make it home."

_**The crash site, Saturday 6:30 PM**_

It was hard for Rick Castle to believe that they had accomplished all they had and were ready to ride out the storm. Some of the supplies had been heavy canvas tarps that had been stretched over the breach in the fuselage and the broken windscreen. The field kitchen had been divided into two tents pitched right up against the fuselage one on each side of the aircraft at the forward doors. The latrine tents were placed at the aft doors one on each side, one for men and one for women.

Castle sighed and relaxed into his seat, grateful for the hot meal and coffee that he held. The meal wasn't great, just heated MRE's, but at least it was hot and filling. Beth Tanaka settled on the seat next to his. She sat back and took a bite of her food and then a sip of tea. Smiling at Castle she said, "This may only be heated army rations, but at the moment it's gonna taste gourmet to me.

Castle smiled back. "Yeah, when you're hungry, enough _anything_ hot is delicious."

They ate in companionable silence, Castle simply enjoying the companionship of an attractive woman with no other thoughts than that. He loved Kate too much to even entertain the idea of a dalliance. Beth, on the other hand was thinking of something far more lascivious. After all, Castle was a big, handsome take charge kind of guy, the kind who always got her blood running hot.

The meal over, Castle got up and joined Ed Travers in checking things out. The new storm had arrived, but it was nowhere near as fierce as the previous ones. The winds were not as high but were changing directions every few minutes and causing snow flurries. It wasn't that cold, about twenty degrees, but the visibility conditions make flying impossible. After their tour of inspection, Castle, Travers and Captain Andrews sat to plan out the course of action for the next few days

About eight-thirty they decided to call it a night. It had been a trying day. Castle reclined his seat all the way, pulled off his boots, parka, shirt and jeans, opened his sleeping bag and crawled into it.

Just as he settled down, Beth sat on the seat next to his where her sleeping bag was already laid out. She slipped off her shoes and jacket. Opening her sleeping bag, she removed her blouse and pants and slid into the bag, pulling it around her but leaving it unzipped for the moment. Smiling languidly she said, "Rick, are you still awake?"

Castle turned his head, his eyes widening in surprise at Beth's condition and the open invitation she was displaying. The look on her face left no doubt of what she wanted as she said, "Rick, can you comfort me?"

Blankets and various articles of clothing had been strung between the rows of seats to give each group a modicum of privacy, although nowhere nearly enough for what she had in mind, even if Castle was inclined, which he wasn't. But judging by the sounds several other couples had no such inhibitions.

Castle, always a gentleman was tactful. "Beth, even if there were enough privacy available I couldn't. Don't get me wrong, you are a very attractive woman and if I weren't engaged I would like nothing better, but I _am_ engaged, and I love my fiancée deeply."

Beth nodded. She was disappointed, but was essentially an honorable woman and both understood and admired Castle's position. She zipped up her sleeping bag and tried to sleep.

_**The loft, Saturday, 11: 05 PM.**_

The whole family was gathered in front of the TV when the evening news came on.

"_Good evening, this is Christine Chan with breaking news. As it has been on everyone's mind we have the latest news about flight 1203, the airliner that crash landed in Kansas. The survivors are now riding out another storm, but reports from our affiliate in Kansas City tell us that Air Force and Army National Guard units have been able to drop supplies to the crash site and set up basic facilities. The survivors should be able to ride out the storm. We are told that there were a total of eleven casualities and their families have already been notified. If you family members or friends on flight 1203 and have not been notified, they are safe._

Kate was sitting on the couch with Lanie on one side, Alexis on the other, each holding one of her hands. Leaning back, Kate breathed a sigh of relief.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter Four: Murphy's Law?**

_Author's Note: If any of you are not familiar with Murphy's Law it is this: Nothing is as easy as it looks, everything takes longer than you expect and if anything can go wrong it will, and at the worst possible moment._

_**New York, Sunday 4:30 AM**_

Kate was pacing the arrivals area at JFK international airport waiting for Rick's flight to arrive. She was talking to Rick on her smart phone, thankful that the FAA had relaxed the rules about the use of mobile phones on aircraft. Rick was telling her that they had encountered some bad weather and that was why they were delayed, but they would be landing in fifteen minutes so he had to end the call. Kate smiled and sent her love.

She was standing at the window when the United Airlines 787 came into view. She smiled in anticipation as the wheels touched the ground and the big aircraft rolled down the runway. It turned and began taxiing toward the terminal when an explosion ripped through the aft fuselage.

The aircraft spun around, the landing gear collapsed, and the aircraft began to burn, the fire spreading rapidly as the fuel spilled out of the ruptured tanks. Kate's screams ripped the night air as she collapsed.

Kate sat upright in bed, her eyes unfocused and the tears streaming. Alexis and Martha rushed into the bedroom. Alexis dropped on the bed and wrapped her arms around Kate. "Mom, Mom, what's happening, what's wrong?" Although Kate and Rick weren't married yet and thus she wasn't Alexis's stepmother yet, Alexis had been calling Kate mom for a while now. After all, in the past few years Kate had shown Alexis more love and treated her more like a daughter than Meredith had in Alexis's entire lifetime.

Kate was shaking and there was a look of despair in her eyes as she cried, "The plane crashed, he's dead."

Alexis pulled Kate in tighter as she said, "Shh, wake up. Dad's okay. It was only a nightmare, a bad dream."

Kate blinked, awake now. She looked around in confusion. "Alexis?"

The young woman smiled. "You were having a nightmare. Come on, let's go into the kitchen. I'll make you some hot chocolate," she said soothingly. They went into the kitchen and Kate sat at the counter while Alexis made a cup of the rich, dark chocolate that was a Castle family specialty.

Kate was still shaking a little as she sipped the chocolate, the warm liquid slowly dispelling the awful chill that resulted from her nightmare. Alexis put a gentle hand on Kate's. The blue eyes so like her father's and her sweet smile soothed Kate as she said, "Dad's okay, Mom, he's coming back to us very soon. Can I sleep in your bed till he comes home? It will help us both."

Kate relaxed and smiled at Alexis. She was amazed at how much she felt like her own daughter, no matter that Alexis was nearly grown. At that she thought, _Meredith, you idiot, how could you neglect her, your own precious daughter? Well, it's good for me that you did, because she's my daughter now and I won't neglect her. I'll make damn sure that you don't get a chance to hurt her ever again!_

Kate took Alexis' hands in hers and said, "Of course you can. It will help me so much."

_**The crash site, Sunday 7:00 AM**_

Rick Castle woke up and stretched. _Damn, I'm stiff and sore. I hate sleeping on this seat and I hate smelling like a goat._ The relief supplies had included waterless cleansers and hand sanitizer so they could wash their hands and faces, but there wasn't much they could do about the rest.

He sat up, and as he did, a pair of soft hands began massaging his neck and shoulders. He turned his head. "Beth?"

Beth gave him a soft smile and said, "Don't worry Rick, you made the situation perfectly clear. I'm not trying to seduce you, but you are very tense and that's not good. John is still out of it and the captain needs your help." Rick sat back and let her work until he could feel the muscles loosening. He stood, turned and thanked her, then headed to the cook tent to see about some breakfast.

Beth watched him as he walked away._ Damn, why does he have to be such honorable man? He's smoking hot. One woman shouldn't be allowed to keep that all to herself! Oh, why am I such a hypocrite? If he were mine I sure wouldn't share him. Worse, he's not even trying to be sexy I wonder what he's like when he is?_

Castle got a hot MRE and a cup of something that bore a faint family resemblance to coffee. When he got out of this, even if Kate wanted to go camping, he was never going to eat another freeze-dried meal in his life.

After breakfast Rick, Captain Andrews and Ed Travers checked the conditions both in and outside the plane. Everything was okay inside and mostly quiet as people were going about eating breakfast. There was some tension in the air from too many people cooped up too long. The weather had eased somewhat, so anyone who wanted to could go out and walk around for exercise for short periods. Outside it had warmed up to almost thirty degrees, but it was still snowing, which was not safe flying weather. They had battery powered radios so they could keep in touch with the outside world. The weather forecast indicated that the cold front was breaking up and the weather was starting to clear, maybe as soon as late night or early tomorrow morning.

There was still no point in trying to use their cell phones. Those that weren't out of charge didn't have any reception. The three men conferred and decided not to tell the rest about the weather just then, as they all knew how unreliable forecasts were.

While they were discussing the situation a thought popped into Castle's mind. His brow furrowed in thought, Castle said, "Captain Andrews, I have to ask again, what do you think happened? I mean, aren't the planes inspected between flights?"

Captain Andrews said, "Why don't you call me Andy? As close as we've worked together, the formality is unnecessary." He shook his head. "Sometimes I feel like strangling my father. I wonder how cruel you have to be to name your son Andrew Andrews?"

Castle laughed briefly. "Okay, Andy, what do you think?"

Andy shook his head. "I don't know what to think. The aircraft was inspected the night before and nothing was found out of order. It couldn't have been a lightning strike. We would have seen the glare and it would probably take out all of our electronics and controls. As far as I know, there isn't any circuitry carrying enough voltage to create an arc like that behind the control panel. It just doesn't make sense."

Ed Travers spoke up. "It could be just good old Murphy's law. Somebody put something in wrong."

Castle passed a hand over his face. "Somebody put something in…" His blue eyes widened as a thought occurred to him. He turned back to the other two. "Maybe it wasn't Murphy's Law. What if it was malicious intent?"

Andy's face scrunched up. "Sabotage? Oh God, I hope not! The plane was in a secure hanger."

That thought weighed heavily on all three men's minds for the rest of the day. If it was sabotage, who was behind it and why? It wasn't a bomb and it didn't happen at an airport. It didn't fit the profile of a typical terrorist group.

_**The crash site, Sunday, 7 PM**_

After supper, such as it was, Rick Castle was deep in thought. _Was it sabotage? If so, who stood to benefit by it and how did they arrange it? The aircraft had been in a secure hanger after the one hundred hour check until just before boarding, so if someone sabotaged the plane it had to be a member of the maintenance crew or the flight crew, maybe both. _

The more he thought about it, the more he was convinced that it was sabotage and not Murphy's Law in action. _Only one engine was disabled, so the intent was not to kill everyone on board since the 787 was rated to fly on one engine in an emergency. Obviously who ever planned this didn't count on the bad weather, so what was the point?_ Castle decided that he had to discuss these points with Captain Andrews and Travers. He went and got the other two and suggested that they go get a hot coffee. That way they could have a talk without raising suspicion.

They went into a corner of the cook tent and sat on some empty crates that were being used as chairs. Talking quietly, Castle made his points and waited for the others to mull them over. After finally agreeing that it was probably sabotage, they were trying to figure out why.

Castle said, "I'm no expert but I've done a lot of research for my books. In a way, this is right up my alley. I'm a mystery writer and this is a mystery. The way this was done, only one thing makes sense to me. Someone was trying to discredit either United Airlines or Boeing Aircraft."

Captain Andrews cocked his head to the side. "Something like this would have to be structural or maintenance, and since we use contract maintenance at San Francisco, it can't reflect on United. It has to be a strike at Boeing. There aren't that many passenger aircraft manufacturers anymore so that narrows it down to only a few suspects. Discredit Boeing and increase your own sales."

_**The crash site, Sunday 11:45 PM**_

Castle was restless. Some sixth sense awakened him. He wasn't sure what, but something was wrong. He looked around and saw light coming from the cockpit. Whoever was in there hadn't closed the door all the way. It was supposed to be locked. Quickly, Castle slipped out of his sleeping bag, pulling on his jeans and shirt as he slipped his feet into his boots. He picked up one of the heavy emergency flashlights and headed to the cockpit. Heavy curtains separated the first class section from the business class and all the other people in first class were asleep. Whoever was in the cockpit didn't think he or she would be observed. Stealthily, Castle approached the cockpit and opened the door.

In the dim light of another flashlight Castle could see someone crouched at the instrument panel just having removed a cover plate. Castle aimed his flashlight at the figure and turned it on. "What the hell do you think you're doing?" he snarled.

Jacques Dubray, a new member of the flight crew, sprang away from the panel, a tool in his hand. He spun and swung at Castle, striking him across the cheek bone. Castle staggered back but the blow didn't do any major damage. It did, however enrage him. As Jacques raised his hand to strike again, Castle regained his footing and swung a hard right into Jacques' solar plexus. The Frenchman doubled over and his face coming down met Castle's knee coming up.

Castle was a big man and had been training with Esposito for the last two years, in martial arts. Jacques sprawled on his back, and before he could regain his feet, Castle grabbed him and threw him against the bulkhead, slamming three savage blows into the Frenchman's face. He then threw the unconscious man through the door. Stripping the man's trouser belt he bound his arms behind him. The commotion had awakened most of the passengers. Captain Andrews and Ed Travers came running forward.

The captains eyes widened in shock. "What happened here, Rick?" he asked.

Castle's face was thunderous as he said, "I caught this son of a bitch opening the control panel. When I did, he attacked me. I think that he's one of the saboteurs."

"Damn it!" the captain swore. "I thought our security procedures were better than this. This guy wasn't properly vetted. Somebody get something to bind him with." Ed Travers went and got both cable ties and duct tape from the repair kit that had been dropped in. He bound Dubray's wrists and ankles with cable ties then with duct tape. He then strapped him into a seat. Beth went outside, scooped some snow into a plastic bag came back in and held it against Castle's cheek.

Ed Travers looked at the bound piece of human garbage with contempt and said, "This pretty well proves our theory. I think that he was trying to remove evidence of the sabotage."

Captain Andrews also glared at the man. "First thing in the morning, we'll radio this in to the authorities. Why don't you hit the sack, Rick? Ed and I will take turns watching this scumbag."

Gratefully, Castle undressed and crawled back into his sleeping bag and was out in a couple of minutes.

_**Washington DC, Monday Morning 7 AM.**_

When the report from flight 1203 reached the FAA, the FBI and Homeland Security all hell broke loose. Teams of agents and inspectors were assembled and got ready to leave as soon as the weather cleared, which wasn't too much longer. By 8:30 they were in the air. A veritable fleet of heavy lift helicopters, wheeled military troop transports, cargo and service trucks were en route to the crash site. Leading the convoy were Military Police Humvees and Kansas State Police four wheel drive SUV's. The crash site was now officially a crime scene.

_**The crash site, Monday 10:30 AM**_

The first of the military and police vehicles began arriving at the site as well as an FBI team from Kansas City and the braver of the news crews.

The FBI team was the first to talk to Castle, and after he described what he saw and the culprit's reaction, they went into the cockpit and found the cover plate on the floor and the tool lying in the corner where Dubray dropped it. The FBI talked to the state police. The police had a fingerprint kit with them. They dusted the cover plate and the tool handle for prints. Dubray had either been so panicked or overconfident that he hadn't worn gloves. His prints were all over the cover plate.

After they took his fingerprints it was confirmed. The FBI arrested him on suspicion of federal terrorism, murder and attempted murder charges.

It was about an hour later when an Air Force V-22 Osprey landed and off-loaded an inspection team. They went directly to the cockpit, the removed panel telling them where to look. They opened a couple more panels to give them greater access. It didn't take the experts long to find the badly damaged sabotage module. "This doesn't belong in here," one of them said. They removed the circuit board that it was attached to and bagged it for evidence.

_**The crash site, Monday 11:45 AM**_

The helicopters had all landed and the wheeled convoy arrived and began loading the passengers and their luggage aboard the various vehicles. A team of FBI agents and Homeland Security agents had taken Castle's and the flight crew's statements. The rest of the passengers would have their individual statements taken over the next couple of weeks. The two punks that had attacked Beth had also been arrested and were facing some serious charges. The passengers were all taken to Kansas City to be checked at various hospitals unless they refused to be examined.

_**The loft, Monday 12:05 PM**_

"Kate, Kate come quickly, the news is on. They're talking about the flight," Martha called excitedly. Kate was all disheveled as she ran into the room. She'd been taking a nap.

The news anchor was saying, _We are happy to bring you some very good news. Reports from Kansas City tell us that the passengers and crew of United Flight 1203 are being loaded on transports now. I am told that the last of them should have departed the crash site no later than 1:30 PM central time. Our sources tell us that all the passengers are in remarkably good shape considering the ordeal that they have been through._

Alexis and Jim had also come into the room at Martha's call. They all indulged in a group hug at the happy news. All three women were crying tears of happiness and release. Kate sat down on the couch, smiling through her tears. "He's coming home. My love is coming home."

_**Kansas City International Airport, Monday 5:15 PM**_

Richard Castle, finally showered and in clean clothes, called Kate Beckett. When she answered, he said, "Hi, sweetheart." He had to hold the phone away from his ear as she screamed his name in exultation, but a smile graced his face at her enthusiastic response and the sheer joy of hearing her voice. When she finally calmed down a little, he continued. "I've chartered a plane and I'll be at JFK in about three hours." Although this time the sound was loud enough for everyone around him to hear it, he couldn't help but laugh.

_Please review. Come on, you know you want to!_


	6. Chapter 6

_Author's Note: The following chapter is in a lighter note, skirting the edge of racy. But don't worry I'll get back to my darker musings in the following chapters._

**Chapter Five: Home**

_**JFK International Airport, charter terminal Monday 8:30PM**_

Richard Castle entered the arrivals waiting area and received a shock, albeit a nice one. He'd expected Kate, Alexis, Martha, Lanie, Esposito, Ryan and Jim. He hadn't expected Captain Gates and what looked like every off-duty member of the 12th precinct. He dropped his bags as Kate ran up to him and jumped into his arms, wrapping her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist. Her mouth locked with his. When she finally ended the kiss, she laid her head on his shoulder, crooning, "Love you, love you, love you." She dropped her feet to the ground and leaned into him, getting as close as she could while they were both still wearing clothes.

Rick looked at his fiancée in awe. Kate Beckett just didn't _do_ public displays of affection. She moved aside just enough to allow Alexis to hug her father. Kate was still snuggled into his left side as Alexis buried her head against his chest, sniffling a little, overjoyed to be where she was.

Alexis gave way to Martha, and then, to Castle's surprise, Jim hugged him too. Jim Beckett already looked at Rick as a son, proud to have someone who loved Kate so much. He knew that if Johanna had lived she would have loved Rick. Esposito and Ryan both put their arms around Castle and pounded his back in brotherly hugs. Lanie came up to Castle and gave him a tight hug before releasing him and then glaring at him. "You better not do anything like that again, Writer Man. You scared our girl half to death."

Captain Gates walked up to Castle, gave him an appraising look, and then surprised him even more than Jim had. She smiled warmly. Castle never thought the muscles of her face could stretch that far. She said, "Welcome back, Mr. Castle. I'm glad that you're safe. I'm giving Detective Beckett a week off. She's been under terrible strain these past few days. I expect to see you back at the precinct next Monday with her."

Castle recovered quickly and returned the Captain's smile, nodded his acceptance and said, "Thank you, sir, I appreciate the kindness, and we will be there bright and early next Monday."

Captain Gates smirked and said, "Two more things I expect of you, Mr. Castle. I expect you to be on time with Detective Beckett on the days you do come in, and I expect you to do your share of the paper work. Detective Beckett needs less stress."

Esposito and Ryan snickered and smirked at the expression on Castle's face before giving each other low 5's. They hated paper work as much as Castle did and were happy to have help with it. After Gates walked away, the rest of the 12th precinct who were there gathered around laughing, shaking hands with Castle, and letting him know that they thought of him as one of their own.

Kate hadn't called Paula Hass or Gina Cowen, Castle's agent and publisher respectively. She didn't want them there. Tomorrow was soon enough to call Paula, and frankly, Kate didn't care if anyone ever called Gina. Kate totally despised her. The crowd dispersed except for Esposito, Ryan and Lanie. They were going back to the loft for a family dinner. Martha had called Rick's favorite caterers as soon as she heard the news.

_**The loft, Monday 9:30PM**_

The loft rang with laughter as the extended family gathered around the dining table. The bond they had was stronger than many families related by blood. As an only child of a single mother, Castle had grown up without a father or any siblings. Kate had lost her mother at 19. Alexis rarely saw Meredith, and knew only one of her grandmothers and neither of her grandfathers. Castle had met his father in Paris when Alexis was abducted and once again on a recent case, but he really didn't _know_ him. Jim Beckett was filling that role now, and Alexis accepted him as her grandfather. The working relationship with Castle, Esposito and Ryan was that of brothers, and they addressed each other as such. Esposito and Ryan viewed Kate as a big sister, although they teasingly referred to Kate and Castle as mom and dad. Jenny Ryan had arrived at the loft separately from her husband, as she had to wait for her mother to baby sit Sarah-Grace.

Martha had gone a little crazy with the caterers. There was something for everybody: American, Italian, Mexican, Chinese, Japanese and Thai. They could stick to one style or mix and match to their heart's content.

Castle was caught up in the moment and didn't notice at first, but he soon became concerned about Kate. With her high metabolism Kate usually had a very good appetite. Tonight she wasn't eating her favorite spicy Chinese or Thai but was sticking to small portions of roast beef and mashed potatoes. She was drinking ginger ale instead of red wine. After they finished eating Castle took Kate aside and said, "What's the matter Kate? You're not eating much. Are you feeling alright?"

She smiled shyly at Castle and said, "I'm fine, Rick, just excited that you're home!

Castle started to turn away, smiling, and then Kate continued. "There's just a couple of things I need to talk to you about." At his look of apprehension, she smiled and said, "Don't worry, babe, it's nothing bad."

Everyone settled in the living room with their drinks of choice and simply enjoyed the company. No one wanted to talk about the flight, as emotions were still too raw. They figured that Castle would tell them about it when he was ready. It was almost midnight before Esposito, Lanie, Ryan and Jenny went home.

_**The loft, Wednesday 12:20AM.**_

Castle washed his face, brushed his teeth and got ready for bed by putting on a pair of boxers and a t-shirt. Kate took a little longer and came out of the bathroom wearing a robe. She sat on the edge of the bed and smiled at Castle.

"Babe, can we have that talk now?" she asked, looking at him with one of the sweetest expressions on her face that he'd ever seen. "

"Sure, whatever you want," he replied, drinking in her expression. She was so beautiful. He'd missed her terribly in the time he'd been on the downed plane.

She cocked her head and said, "You know how you're always saying you know a guy? Well, I want you to talk to some of those guys. I want you to arrange a venue, get our invitations printed and sent out, the cake made and the caterers arranged for. I don't want to wait two more months to get married. I want it in two weeks. I was so scared that I'd never get to be Mrs. Castle. I want it and I don't want to wait." She'd been speaking faster and faster, and Castle laid his hand on her arm gently.

"Whatever you want, Kate. We've already picked the venues for the wedding and the reception, so all I have to do is wave enough money in their faces to get them to reschedule." He frowned slightly. "But we don't really have to rush, sweetheart. We can wait a few months to get married." He gave a small laugh. "I mean, what were the odds of a plane being highjacked with me on it?"

Kate bit her lip and slid over to Castle. "Well, you see, in a few months I will definitely not be able to wear my beautiful wedding dress." She took a deep breath. "The reason that I wasn't eating is that my stomach is a little unsettled, and I wasn't drinking wine because, well, it's not good for the baby. I'm, I mean, we're, pregnant!"

Castle's jaw dropped and for a few seconds he was speechless, which sent Kate's anxiety bounding, but it was only those few seconds. Then Castle let out a whoop of joy and he pulled Kate into his arms. "Kate! Oh my God, this is the greatest present you could ever give me. I get to be a dad again. You're going to be the greatest, most beautiful mom ever!" He lifted her chin and kissed her, a kiss full of love and adoration. He pulled back and said anxiously, "I mean, you're sure, right? No false alarm here or anything?"

Kate laughed. "No, I'm pretty sure the 5 home pregnancy tests I took that all said "positive" have to count for something." She smiled and giggled as Castle jumped up and pumped his fist in the air before sitting back down to hug her tightly.

After a few moments, Kate pulled out of his arms and stood up. He looked at her in surprise. "Kate, is something wrong?"

She walked over to the bedroom door and locked it. She turned around and gave him a sultry smile. Dropping the robe she revealed a sheer black negligee. "If I just gave you a present, babe, I want mine. And I want it right now! I've missed you so much!"

She literally pounced on Castle, laughing as she knocked him flat on the bed and eagerly sought his mouth. Her tongue demanded and received entry, dueling with his for dominance until they broke the kiss for air. She then placed hot, open-mouthed kisses along his throat until she reached his pulse point. At which he flipped them over and returned the favor. Kate began to utter little cries as the heat spread throughout her body.

Kate was normally a passionate woman, and now, with pregnancy hormones flooding her system, every inhibition she ever had disappeared. Her eyes dark with desire, she growled, "Get naked Rick, now!"

As Castle pulled his t-shirt over his head, Kate grabbed his boxers and slid them off.

Castle slid the negligee off her shoulders while Kate shimmied out of her panties. Most nights their love-making was a slow build up, but not tonight. The strain and the fear that had been weighing so heavily on them both made them desperate in their passion. Kate pulled his mouth away from her throat, positioning it where she really wanted it at her breasts and guided his hands lower. His talented hands sent flashes of arousal wherever he touched her. She couldn't wait much longer. Opening her eyes wide and staring into his, she cried, "Now, Rick, please!"

It was the quickest and one of the most powerful climaxes she'd ever had. She lay trembling but sated for long minutes in his arms. She was still weak, so Castle carried her into the bathroom and held her to him as he gently washed her. Stepping out of the shower he wrapped her in a warm towel, drying her off as gently as he'd washed her. Warm and dry, Kate had a dreamy smile on her face as Castle carried her back to bed, lay her down and climbed in beside her. She immediately snuggled in, entwining her legs with his and resting her head on his chest.

"Good night, my love," she whispered, and was asleep in seconds.

_**The loft, Wednesday 7:30AM**_

Kate awoke to the sunlight shining through the window. She had shifted in the night and now lay completely on top of Castle, loving the warmth and the feel of their nude bodies pressed together. She smiled a slow languid smile and decided to wake Castle in her own special way.

She began to caress his chest and stomach, and as he stirred, placed her mouth on his, teasing him with her tongue. Castle's eyes opened and she thrilled to see the sleepy look replaced by one of desire. Oh, she knew how to turn him on, that was for sure, but she became just as turned on as he was.

She lifted her head and said, with a laugh, "If you want me to cook breakfast for you Rick, you've got to earn it." She dropped her head down and began a repeat of last night's activities, but at a much slower pace, savoring every touch, taste and sensation drawing out the pleasure for both, each losing the self in the gestalt that was them.

_**The loft, Wednesday 11:30AM**_

Breakfast was much later than usual, actually brunch, with only the two of them. The rest had eaten earlier. After cleaning up, Kate said, "Start calling the guys you know, Mr. Castle. We have a lot to do in a short amount of time and your woman is becoming very impatient."

The wedding itself would be a small affair held at the quiet little church that Kate's parents had been married in, with only immediate family and close friends attending. The reception was another matter, as Kate had a large number of cousins and Rick's celebrity status meant that a number of influential people had to be invited. Kate had decided the wedding colors early on and they both chose the cake, but turned the rest of the reception over to a professional planner with the proviso that it be kept as private as possible.

Kate had asked Lanie to be her maid of honor, with Alexis and Jenny as bridesmaids. Esposito would serve as best man with Ryan and Jeff Cochrane, a young police officer from the 12th as groomsmen. Jeff was one of the uniformed officers who assisted Beckett's team and was an aspiring detective. He and Castle had become close friends.

They accomplished a lot in that one afternoon, although there would still be much for them to do, right up to the day itself.

_**The loft, Wednesday 5:30PM**_

With everyone home for the evening, Rick and Kate decided that they would tell the family about their accelerated plans after dinner and everyone else in the morning. Jim was returning to his own place that night. Kate had prepared a simple meal of chicken alfredo with a green salad and garlic bread.

Castle looked around the table, cleared his throat and said, "Kate and I have something to tell you. We have decided that we don't want to wait much longer. We are moving the wedding up to two Friday's from now. I know that it's short notice, but if only our family makes it, that's all that matters."

Kate spoke up. "I asked for it. I was so lonely while he was away before the crash and so scared during the ordeal that I won't take any more chances."

Martha was flustered and started to say something when Alexis put her hand on Martha's arm. "Don't say anything, Gram." She turned to Kate. "Mom, I agree with you. Just let me help you. We've got a lot to do! I'm going to call Lanie and Jenny right now and tell them. We need to go dress shopping tomorrow."

Jim just chuckled and shook his head. It didn't matter how much commotion it might cause, he knew his stubborn daughter, and once she'd made her mind up that was pretty much that.

_**The loft, Wednesday 9:30PM**_

Castle was relaxing with a glass of sparkling grape juice. Since Kate couldn't have any wine he was trying to make it easier on her by not drinking around her. He was just about to turn on the TV when Kate came in, wrapped in her robe. She focused her gaze on him, knowing that he couldn't refuse her anything she really wanted. "Don't turn that thing on, please. The bath is already run and it's just right. I want _us_ to take a nice hot bath together." She pulled him to his feet and led him to their bathroom. He shed his clothes in record time. She smiled, looking back at him and dropped her robe on the floor. Castle ran his eyes appreciatively over her form. He could never get enough of his beautiful fiancée.

Her slender form might not be the sexiest to many men, but for Castle, she was perfection personified. The bathroom was lighted by candles and the water in the tub was emitting fragrant smells from the oils Kate added to it. Castle stepped in first and sat against the back of the tub.

Kate climbed in and sat in the vee of his legs, leaning back against him. A sigh of complete contentment escaped from her lips. They lay in the warmth of the tub, so relaxed that she nearly fell asleep. Castle poured shampoo into her hair, gently massaging her scalp as he washed it. Kate always marveled at how gentle those huge hands could be. They weren't the soft hands they'd been when she first met him. The years spent training with Esposito had hardened them.

Still, she loved the feel of his hands as they glided over her skin. Finished with her hair, he took up the loofa and lovingly bathed the rest of her. They finally exited the tub when the water cooled, and they used warmed towels to dry each other. As Castle reached for his boxers, Kate snatched them out of his reach. With a huge grin and her eyes sparkling, Kate said, "You won't need those just yet."


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter Six: Preparations**

_**Denly's Bridal Shop, New York City, Thursday 3:30PM**_

Kate Beckett was ready to scream. As much as Alexis, Lanie, Jenny and Martha enjoyed shopping, for Kate, there was little enjoyment in it. She knew what styles she liked and the stores she patronized. She went in, bought what she needed and left.

Alexis and Martha were used to shopping in up-scale stores with Castle's credit card. This was the fifth store they'd been in. In this one Kate just might be let out of her misery (oh, her aching feet!), as it seemed that they'd found the dress styles and color they could agree on.

Due to the fiendishly short timeframe for the wedding, even with Castle's money and connections, it would be next to impossible to find matching bridesmaid dresses and have them ready in time. Well, it wouldn't be _impossible_, but the price to do so made Kate's jaw drop when she heard it. So she decided that her bridesmaids would go shopping to find similar dresses in the color scheme (a rich emerald green and soft cream that signified new life and new beginnings to Kate).

They were now at Denly's, an upscale wedding and special occasion clothing store. The bridesmaids, let by an excited Alexis, had made a beeline for the green-hued section of the store upon arrival. Kate had taken the opportunity to settle herself in a chair.

After several dress choices were paraded in front of her, and after much discussion and critique by the ones wearing the dresses, Kate was beyond relieved to find that all of her bridesmaids had found dresses they liked. Lanie, as maid of honor, had a tea-length dress with flowing sleeves and a ruffled skirt that perfectly showed off her figure. Jenny's dress was also tea-length, but she had elbow-length sleeves and a delicately embroidered skirt on her dress. Alexis choose a knee-length dress with a fitted bodice, fluttery cap sleeves, and a barely visible pattern of leaves running from the top right shoulder of her dress in a widening sweep down to the bottom left. The rich green color warmed her skin and complimented her long red hair. They were all able to find matching strappy black heels. Kate smiled as she watched the three of them model their dresses. It was perfect.

Even Martha got in on it. As the mother of the groom, and soon to be mother-in-law of the bride, she chose a lovely outfit in soft green that perfectly worked with the bridal party.

_**The loft, Thursday 6:30PM**_

Everybody was gathered in the loft again because there was still so much to do. Castle had dinner catered and they were waiting for it to be delivered. He'd ordered a rib roast with baked potatoes, peas, a Waldorf salad, rolls and chocolate mousse. Alexis and Jenny were setting the table, Jim, Javi and Kevin were off in Castle's study planning something, and Kate was stretched out on the couch, her feet in Castle's lap, moaning with relief as he massaged her aching toes. Lanie snickered and said, "You know writer-man loves you, girlfriend, if he rubs your feet." Kate reached back, grabbed a pillow, and threw it at Lanie.

Kate sat up when Castle finished and noticed that her dad, Espo, Ryan and Jeff weren't in the room, and she could hear voices in the study. She got up and went to the door of the study.

"Dad, guys, what are you doing in there?"

It got suspiciously quiet as she opened the door. Her dad looked up and smiled at her and said, "Nothing, Katie, just talking."

Kate rolled her eyes. "Oh really? I know you're up to something and I probably won't like it. So spill."

"Truly, Katie, it's nothing for you to worry about. It's just a guy thing."(They were planning Castle's bachelor party) Castle hadn't wanted a bachelor party but the guys weren't about to miss the opportunity. (Nor were the ladies going to let Kate opt out of her bachelorette party.)

Espo and Jeff were disappointed that they'd have to tone the party down. Definitely no strippers, not with Kate's dad there. In addition, remembering how jealous Kate had been of Natalie Rhodes and Serena Kaye, they didn't want to think what Kate might do to them if they brought a half-naked woman to dance for Castle, especially with the pregnancy hormones flooding her body.

Kate went back out to the living room, where Castle was still on the couch. She looked at him and said, "What are they up to, Castle? I know they're up to something." Castle shrugged as he replied.

"You did notice that I'm out here, not in there didn't you? I don't know what they're doing."

Kate huffed and was about to say something more when the doorbell rang. Castle got up and answered the door. It was the delivery man with the food. Castle paid him and gave him a generous tip. Martha, Alexis and Jenny took the food and began setting it out. Kate called everyone to come and eat.

As the meal progressed Jim Beckett sat and felt a deep satisfaction as he watched his daughter effortlessly becoming mistress of this house. He'd waited so long to see it. There was no trace of the tough cop. Kate's beautiful femininity was on full display. The soft smiles she gave to her family, the sparkle in her eyes, the look of contentment on her face told the story. The exchanges between Kate and Alexis told Jim something beautiful and timeless. Kate might not be the one that gave birth to Alexis, but that they were now mother and daughter no one could doubt.

_**The loft, Thursday 9:30PM**_

Kate was very tired. The day had taken a lot out of her, but it was a wonderful kind of tired. Her friends were all leaving and she was looking forward to a nice warm bath. She laughed at herself. She was becoming addicted to that tub. She bid goodnight to everyone and went into the bathroom. Castle came into the bathroom half an hour later to find her asleep in the tub, her head cradled in a floating pillow Castle had given her. He lifted her out of the tub, gently dried her off and wrapped her in her robe. Kate didn't completely wake up, mumbling sleepily as Castle tucked her into bed.

_**The loft, Friday 8:30 AM**_

Kate awoke and stretched then reached for her fiancé, surprised to find his side of the bed empty. She looked at the bedside clock and blinked in shock at the 8:30 blinking at her. She never slept this late! She got up, went to the bathroom and completed her morning routine. Dressing in a comfortable pair of jeans and one of Castle's old dress shirts, she ambled into the kitchen, hoping to surprise Castle. Unfortunately Alexis was sitting at the counter. She smiled and let out a cheery, "Hi, Mom, ready for breakfast?"

Kate was ready for the smell of food to cause nausea, and to her delight, it didn't. Instead of discomfort she was ravenous. Castle grinned as he laid a plate in front her as she sat down. He'd made pancakes topped with strawberries and whipped cream, scrambled eggs, sausages and herb tea.

Kate wolfed the meal down and then sat back, sated. She waited for the nausea to hit and after half an hour was gratefully surprised that it hadn't. She got a second cup of tea, sipping thoughtfully she suddenly realized that she hadn't felt sick since Castle got home. Logically she knew that nausea accompanied pregnancy. Some women got horribly sick and others rarely or not at all. She sincerely hoped that the stress of Castle being missing had caused or intensified her experiences.

Kate felt slightly guilty about not being at the precinct but happy to enjoy the time off that she had. She'd also been surprised that when she called Captain Gates to inform her of the new wedding date, Gates had cheerfully granted her a three week leave for her honeymoon. Kate had so many days of accrued vacation time that she hadn't used that Gates didn't have a problem with it, even at short notice. Did Iron Gates actually have a soft side?

Castle was in his office working on an outline for another Nikki Heat book. Although the latest release was only a couple of months old, and in spite of the recent ordeal, Gina was already pestering Castle about a new book. Castle had rearranged his office so that Kate had her own desk and computer. She decided to do some work on the wedding plans. She walked into the office, placed a light kiss on Castle's head then proceeded to her own desk and sat down.

Kate was going over the guest list for the reception, making sure that all the invitations had gone out. Even with all the weeding out they'd done the list was still over 150 people. In spite of the number of times that she'd been to various events with Castle, Kate still didn't like large gatherings, especially where she was the center of attention. She smirked. One of the advantages of changing the date like this meant that some of the people had other obligations they couldn't get out of.

One of the people she hoped was otherwise engaged was her cousin Kendell. Kendell was a month younger than Kate and bore a striking resemblance to her, except that she was a blue-eyed blonde. Kendell had always been jealous of Kate and competed with her. She'd tried to steal Kate's boyfriends when they were teens or tried to mess with Kate in other ways. She was a triple divorcee, and Kate was sure that she'd be all over Rick if she had the chance. Kate had wanted to leave her off the guest list but knew she'd never hear the end of it if she did.

She was startled out of her concentration when Castle slammed the cover of his laptop shut and exclaimed, "To hell with it! I've got more important things to do than crank out another book for that wingless vulture. I've met the terms of my contract so any further books are on a book to book basis at my discretion. Gina can wait for a while for the next book. Come on, Kate; let's get out of here for a little while. Let's take a walk in the park and then go for lunch."

Kate looked up and smiled, her eyes sparkling with amusement. "Sounds good, babe," she said. "Give me half an hour to finish this."

_**Sam's Super Subs, Friday 1:00PM**_

Kate took a delicate bite of her veal Marsala submarine sandwich. She hadn't been that hungry when they left the loft, but a brisk walk in the park on this beautiful spring day had stimulated her appetite. Well, hers, and that of the little guest she was carrying around in her abdomen. She watched Castle attack his pastrami and Swiss with gusto. She ate a little more hesitantly, still a little shaken from an incident half an hour ago. As they'd left the park, a boy flying a radio control airplane lost control and crashed it into a tree. The visual impact triggered a flashback of her nightmare. Kate had let out a gasp and buried her face in Castle's chest, sobbing a little. A tough as nails cop she might be, but she was also a woman deeply in love. She wasn't immune to fear. For once in his life Castle passed up the chance to tease her and did just the right thing. He pulled her close and whispered, "It's okay, love, I'm right here."

Kate was still feeling residual fear when they got back to the loft. She needed reassurance and sought it immediately. As soon as they hung up their coats she pulled Castle into the bedroom. She was out of her blouse and pants as soon as the door shut. Castle wasn't moving fast enough for her. Buttons flew off his shirt as she ripped it open, running her hands up his chest and around his neck, her mouth hot and demanding on his. There was no slow build up this time; she was too needy. While it was quick and a little rough it was just what she needed at the moment.

As she lay cuddled against him, in the afterglow he chuckled. "If that's how you react when you're scared, I'm going to have to scare you more often."

She rolled her eyes and slapped him across the chest. "Bastard," she said it with laughter in her voice. He wiggled his eyebrows. "True but I'm your bastard."

She chuckled in return. "That you are, always."

_**The loft, Friday 3:30PM**_

After they had showered together and dressed they came out of the bedroom to find Alexis sitting on the couch with a half amused, half annoyed look on her face. She gave them her version of the eye roll she'd copied from Kate and said, "What do you two think you are, rabbits? You're worse than a couple of horny teen-agers. It's enough to scar a girl for life!"

Kate was shocked and a little embarrassed until she saw the smirk that Alexis was trying to control. Kate could banter with the best of them. "Are you speaking from experience, Alexis?"

Castle made a face. "Eww, no, she is most certainly not!"

At that both women exploded into laughter. Alexis got up and hugged Kate. "Actually I'm happy for you, Mom. I've never seen dad as happy as he is with you and I'm _finally_ going to have a sibling." Castle smiled gently as he watched the two most important people in his life interact.

Castle spent some time with Kate and Alexis then went and changed into an NYPD sweatshirt and sweat pants, sneakers, ball cap and sunglasses. Picking up his gym bag he said, "I'm going down to the precinct gym. Espo, Ryan and I are going to work out and do a little sparring."

Alexis said, "When you get back, Dad, we're eating in. I'm making spaghetti Alfredo Carbonera, a salad and garlic bread. The paparazzi have left you alone for a couple of days, but it's Friday night, and they'll be ready to ambush you wherever you go if you and Mom go out."

_**The 12**__**th**__** precinct gym Friday, 4:30PM**_

Castle had been training steadily in various forms of self- defense and sparring with Esposito for the past two years. He'd been training with weights and running. His already massive arms and chest are now defined and hard. He and Esposito were going at it on the mat, throwing punches and kicks, throws and locks. Despite the hard work out both men were thoroughly enjoying themselves. Ryan, Cochrane, Hastings, Karpowski and several other members of the 12th were avid spectators and bets are being placed. Not all of them on Esposito. Castle might be older than Esposito, but he was larger and stronger. Karpowski was happily telling one of the rookies about the destruction of Demming. A couple of months ago, Detective Demming had come back to the robbery detail after working in narcotics. He hadn't done well there and wanted an easier assignment. He was still holding a grudge about losing his chance with Beckett even though more than three years had passed. He'd decided to get even by beating Castle up on the pretext of a sparring match. He was confident that he could take a mere writer. Or he could humiliate him if he refused the challenge.

He'd smirked when he noticed that Castle was wearing sweats. The smirk had disappeared when Castle removed the sweats and was clad in boxing shorts and a tank top. His confidence quickly diminished but it was too late by then. He had launched a wicked overhand punch intended to break Castle's nose. Castle had easily avoided the blow and returned a savage punch to Demming's solar plexus. Instead of following up, Castle stood back and let Demming regain his breath. Castle was angry. Demming had no right to pursue this. Castle intended to teach the arrogant ass a lesson. Demming next tried a roundhouse, which was blocked, and a spin kick that was also blocked. Then Castle had gone to work, landing a series of punches, kicks, and throws, some of which were blocked, but most connected. Castle had shrugged off the few blows that Demming managed to land. Castle finally threw him hard to the mat, dropped on Demming and pinned him. Demming had tapped out. He had a hard time explaining to his buddies how he'd managed to acquire all those bruises and a strained shoulder in less than three minutes.

Esposito and Ryan had collected money from the other cops who'd bet on Demming. Esposito had also been laughing at Demming. He'd never liked the guy. Karpowski came back to the present. She felt mildly jealous of Kate, actually more envious than jealous. She'd liked Castle from the first and would have liked to make a play for him, but it was so obvious that Kate had his heart that she didn't want to embarrass herself when she was rejected. Still, she liked the man, and if she couldn't have him she enjoyed watching him.

The match didn't last much longer as both men had been going at it hard. LT, one of the uniformed officers, had been acting as referee. He called time, calling it a draw. The two men embraced, laughed and decided to stop at the Old Haunt for a beer after they changed. Ryan, Karpowski, LT and Cochrane decided to join them. One beer became two before Castle looked at his watch and realized he was in trouble.

_**The loft, Friday 7:00PM**_

When Castle walked into the loft trouble was waiting for him in the form of two redheads and a brunette. Martha was frowning at him and Alexis's face wore an exact copy of Kate's death glare. All three women started in on him.

Martha frowned and stated, "Richard, you are late for dinner. I taught you better manners than that!"

Alexis chimed in with an angry pout and told him, "Dad, I worked very hard on that dinner and it was ready to serve an hour ago!" Kate raised her eyebrows and said pointedly, "Castle, I'm eating for your child. We are both very hungry. Why are you late?" Castle started to flush and tried to find a suitable excuse but couldn't so he admitted to stopping at the Old Haunt for a beer with the guys and got carried away.

Kate fumed. "I called you twice! Why didn't you answer?"

Castle looked sheepish. "I left my phone in my gym bag. I didn't hear it! It's kind of loud in the Old Haunt." He approached his fiancée gingerly. "How mad are you?"

Kate sighed. "I'm not that mad, Rick, I'm hurt. I want you home with me when you say you'll be, not drinking in a bar even if you own the bar and you're with Kevin and Javi."

Castle slid an arm around her and kissed her. "I'm sorry, Kate, it was thoughtless. I won't do it again."

Kate sighed and relaxed against him. She usually couldn't find it in herself to stay mad at him. "All right, babe, at least you showered at the gym and don't smell like a goat. Come and eat."

Alexis still wore the death glare. "Mom may go easy on you, Dad, but I won't. The next time I cook and you're late you'll be wearing the pasta instead of eating it!" Castle made sure to praised her efforts loudly and frequently through dinner, and was finally rewarded with one of Alexis's bright smiles.

After dinner was over and the dishes washed and put away, Rick made popcorn while Kate chose a movie and settled on the couch. Rick sat beside her, placing the popcorn and two sodas on the coffee table. Kate snuggled in against him. As he relaxed she grabbed his ear and twisted it, hard. "Ouch, apples, Kate, apples! What the hell was that for?"

She narrowed her eyes and said, counting on her fingers, "One, for making us wait for dinner, two, for being dumb enough to believe I wasn't mad, and three, to remind you that drinking with your buddies when I'm waiting for you is a seriously bad idea." A large part of Kate's anger was fear-based. With the crash so recent, any time Rick was overdue even as little as 15 minutes sent her worry into overdrive. She scowled and held up one more finger. "And four is for worrying your mother and daughter as well as me."

Castle rubbed his ear as he said, "I truly am sorry, Kate, I just didn't realize how much you would worry. You know that I'd never intentionally hurt you."

Kate softened, "I know, and I think I understand. None of the women in your past truly loved you just for you. Not even Kyra. Her parents' opinion mattered more to her. So your actions never meant enough to them to be really hurt by you and I think, deep down you knew that. But I love you with everything I am. I hate being apart from you more than need be. I don't mean I'll cling, smother you or let you smother me, and we'll each need our alone time or girl's or boy's night out, but we need to let each other know, beforehand."

She kissed his ear, soothing it with her tongue, then kissed him and snuggled in again. "Let's watch a movie."

_**The loft, Saturday, 7:00AM**_

Kate opened her eyes and stretched, languidly. Oh, she felt good this morning! She felt refreshed from a uninterrupted night's sleep. She smiled as she turned towards her sleeping fiancé. She watched the rise and fall of his chest and admired the spill of hair across his forehead. Suddenly she wasn't so relaxed. There was a heat building in her belly. _What's going on with me? Is it just the hormones or something else? Ever since he got home I'm hornier than a bag of toads. Oh hell, I don't care why I just need a shot of Castle right now!"_

She slipped her t-shirt over her head and slid her panties off. Then she rolled over and began placing open mouthed kisses along his jawline, finally nipping at his pulse point. Then she stuck her tongue into his ear, whispering, "Wake up, Castle, I need you."

Castle awoke to a tightening in his groin and a fully aroused woman all over him. She'd pushed his t-shirt up to expose his torso and was currently kissing her way down towards his abdomen.

"Kate, what…?"

She raised her head, gave him a naughty grin and said, in a sultry voice, "If you don't know by now, Rick, you're an awfully slow learner." Castle grinned.

A little less than an hour later, Kate was humming softly to herself as she moved around the kitchen preparing breakfast. Although she loved the waffles or pancakes Rick usually made she was craving something with a lot more protein. She needed to nourish the little person growing inside her. She was making breakfast steaks and scrambled eggs loaded with cheese and butter. Hash browns, toast and fresh peaches were also on the list. Kate was about to call Rick for breakfast when the thought struck. She'd called him Castle for years but now she was calling him and thinking of him as Rick more and more often.

Alexis bounded down the stairs, obviously excited. "What's that wonderful smell, Mom?"

Kate smiled at Alexis' exuberance. "It's a solid breakfast for a change. I want to cut down on the amount of sugar that gets into the system of our nine year old on a sugar rush. Also I don't want to look like a complete blimp by the time the baby's born. Go call your dad."

The rest of Saturday went by in an almost dream-like state. They ate a light lunch, went for a leisurely walk in the park, ate dinner at home and watched movies. The only exception to the soft pace was Castle's hour long work out in the gym. Jenny Ryan called that evening to invite them to attend church with her, Kevin and Sarah Grace. Kate hesitated at first. Although she'd been raised Catholic she hadn't been in church since her mother's funeral mass. But it seemed to mean a lot to Jenny, so Kate agreed to go. Rick had no formal religious training at all and balked at going but Alexis jumped in on Kate and Jenny's side so he grumbled about it and caved.

_**Saint Andrew's church, Sunday 9:50AM**_

The Ryan family was waiting outside the church as Castle, Kate and Alexis pulled up. Kevin admired the brand new Mercedes SUV. Kate had convinced Rick that as much as she liked the Ferrari, it wasn't the proper vehicle for a family car. It, along with her Harley, had been relegated to the garage at the Hampton's house. They got out of the car and joined the Ryan's.

Castle and Ryan were almost identically dressed in dark blue suits, white shirts and blue ties. Kate wore a pale blue silk dress that hung just below her knees and Alexis wore a very similar dress in burgundy. Both wore black stiletto pumps. Jenny wore a pink dress that matched Sarah Grace's outfit.

Jenny kissed both Kate and Alexis, very happy to have her friends join her. They chatted quietly as they entered the church. Neither Castle nor Alexis had spent much time in church, yet they enjoyed the beauty of the interior and the quiet dignity of the Mass. After the service Jenny invited them to join them at Jenny's parents' house for lunch. Ryan had a great relationship with his in-laws and Sunday lunch was a family tradition. When Jenny asked if their friends could join them, she'd received an enthusiastic yes. Jenny's parents were both from large Irish families and enjoyed having a big group at the table.

_**The loft, Sunday 6PM**_

"What do you want for dinner?" Castle asked, looking at his daughter and fiancée.

Kate rolled her eyes. "After a lunch like that? You've got to be kidding me. I'm just going to have a peach and some yogurt with the vanilla herbal tea." Alexis was channeling Kate as she gave her father the same look and reply except that she was having coffee. Castle grumbled but just fixed a bowl of cereal for himself.

_**The loft, Sunday, 9PM.**_

Kate yawned and stretched. She stood up and went into Castle's office where he was playing a video game. She leaned over and kissed his cheek. "Come on, Castle," she said. "Tomorrow is a work day and we dare not be late. Gates expects both of us bright and early so we need to go to bed now. I seem to need more sleep than I used to."

Castle smiled and said, "Well, it looks like our little one there just loves his or her naps already."

Kate rolled her eyes. "Either that, or he or she is taking way too much after his or her father." She grinned and sashayed back into the bedroom. Castle smirked at her retreating figure before her words actually registered. He scrambled up after her.

"Hey!"

_**Come on, people, please review. You know that you want to.**_


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